1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to winding of mechanical watches while the watches are stored or displayed. This invention more particularly pertains to automated winding of watches by engaging the crown of the watch and periodically turning the crown a predetermined amount.
2. Description of Related Art
At present, there are numerous types of watches which do not require manual winding. The most commonly available watches which do not require any winding are battery operated digital watches which run for the life of the battery. Typically, these digital watches may run continuously for years without maintenance by the wearer even while not being worn. These battery operated watches do not need rewinding and, therefore, are not the subject of the present invention.
However, there are also numerous types of watches which are mechanical and do require winding to operate. Most of these mechanical wrist watches may primarily be distinguished by whether they are self-winding or require manual winding by hand to operate. Self-winding mechanical watches operate as long as their is sufficient physical movement to actuate the internal winding mechanisms contained within the watch. The wearer's own natural arm movements actuate the internal winding mechanism of the watch thereby allowing the watch to run without manual rewinding. But while the self-winding watch is not being worn or during periods of inactivity, the watch runs down and will eventually stop. These self-winding watches are then manually rewound by hand to start the watch running again. Additionally, the correct time, moon phases, day of the week and month will also have to be reset though an elaborate sequence which the wearer may find cumbersome to perform each time he wants to wear a fancy watch. However, the present invention eliminates this need.
Mechanical watches which are incapable of self-winding are periodically rewound prior to stopping so that the watch continues to operate. Most high grade watches are hand wound and not automatic. Also, most high grade watches are made of precious metal and are extremely thin for esthetic reasons. In most such watches, there is no room for a self winding rotor. In addition, other complications such as a calendar further increase the thickness of the watch to the degree that the addition of a winding rotor may seriously compromise the esthetic appearance of the watch. Also, high grade precious and expensive watches are seldom worn on a daily basis. An expensive dress watch may only be worn on weekends where the owner may find rewinding and resetting day, month and calendar excessively cumbersome. As a result, he may choose not to wear the watch, therefore, making the investment in a fancy watch impractical.
However, like most other mechanical watches, these manually wound watches also run down if allowed to operate without repeated rewinding. Once the watch stops, it must be rewound in order to begin operating again and the time must also be reset. Also, the fine lubrication in mechanical watches has a tendency to harden and even cease movement if the internal components are not exercised regularly.
As a result of the desire to keep a mechanical watch running while not being used, attempts have been made at providing devices which will rewind a watch and keep it from stopping. Some known devices merely facilitate easy rewinding of the watch while the watch is still being used while others rewind the watch while the watch is being stored and/or displayed. For example, U.S. Pat No. 3,774,389 to Wilken teaches a manual watch stem winder. The watch stem winder may be part of a handle such as a pen or pencil. The winder has a concave shaped end with a series of ribs for receiving the head of a watch stem. Manually rotating the winder with the head of the watch stem in the concave end of the winder will rewind the watch. However, the patent to Wilken does not teach automatic winding of mechanical watches when not in use as does the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,057,958 to Wuntch teaches an apparatus for winding mechanical self-winding watches when not being worn. The watch is placed over a wrist-sized mandrel such that a revolving shaft driven by a motor rotates the mandrel and the wrist watch together. The rotation of the watch on the mandrel provides sufficient physical movement to actuate the internal winding mechanism contained within the watch. The apparatus disclosed in the patent to Wuntch requires that the watch itself be rotated thereby preventing uninterrupted viewing of the watch. Moreover, the Wuntch invention does not allow for rewinding mechanical watches which are not self-winding.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,608,693 to Richards teaches a nonlinear vibration device for providing vibration to a self-winding mechanical wrist watch when not worn on the wrist. The watch is mounted on a holder which is in turn mounted on springs and driven by a motor. The holder thereby vibrates to mimic human arm movement. The patent to Richards also does not disclose an apparatus for rewinding mechanical watches which are not self-winding.
For the foregoing reasons, what is needed is a winding apparatus which intermittently winds mechanical watches while not being worn such as when being stored and/or displayed. This mechanical watch winder must provide intermittent winding for self-winding watches as well as other types of mechanical watches which are only capable of manual winding by hand. This winding apparatus must also allow the watch to remain stationary so that it may be continuously viewed even while being wound.